Monday, February 10, 2014

Here's To Not Lookin' at Ya

It's cover conference time again; this week "they" will be getting together to brainstorm the cover for the ninth tenth Sebastian book, Who Buries the Dead, due to be released in March 2014 2015.

The reactions to the cover of Why Kings Confess have been so positive that my publishers are planning to create a unified look for the series, using this cover artist. To that end they have redone the cover of What Angels Fear. Personally, I liked the Kings cover; I love the way it captures Sebastian's energy and edginess and aura of danger. And while I felt the model's face was not as refined as I've always envisioned Sebastian, I do find him sexy in a sort of Sean-Bean-as-Sharpe way. I'm not as happy with the Angels cover; I think the design is great but the male figure just doesn't say "Sebastian" to me at all.

I told my publishers that a lot of readers like the look of the new covers but think it would be better if Sebastian's face wasn't so visible. And, believe it or not, they listened. So now they want suggestions for ways to achieve that. About the only thing I came up with was having his head tipped downward so that his face is shadowed by his hat. I tried going to Le Google for images of other ideas, but I wasn't successful.

So I'm throwing it open to y'all. Suggestions for dynamic poses that hide the face, anyone? Links to images that show possible poses would be appreciated.

32 comments:

Anonymous
said...

c- first isn't why kings confess the 9th book? due out next month. Who Buries the Dead - is 10 due out march 2015? or do I need a lot more coffee? I know I was the only one (almost) who liked the face of the Angels new cover but forgetting that and moving on to new question - your idea seems the best - like What Darkness Brings, you get a hint of him. but not a real look at his face. I looked at some book covers and many either just show the back of a head of a character or from a great distance. A few of Tasha Alexander covers seem to cut off the face above the nose. I've seen others do that too. I'm not that creative but there doesn't seem to be that many options. don't think I was much help.good luck!, best, ali

Oh, I'm so glad they're listening to you about the cover model's face. I think the model looks fine, but I agree that he looks more rugged in his features than most of us envision for Sebastian. I think that lowering the head or even partial profiles would work in giving us a hint without being too revealing.

An example would be the covers for The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series 9steampunk genre). It's become a running joke among the fans that we'll never get to see the face of the main male character. :)

As everyone has said, love the new cover of WAF, except that face of 'Sebastian'. Everything else is in keeping (beautifully) with the whole theme of the book. Can the face be darkened (photoshop) and the profile left the same? Since most the rest of the figure's clothing is dark--black cape with light shining on the back, it would also, be in sharp contrast nicely against the bright light to the right of the figure. That would lend a nice aura of mystery and intrigue--darker face (more left up to the imagination) turning back to stare. The current facial image is almost like a photo, whereas in WKC the face is more fuzzy and blurry, lending a little more to the imagination. I also 'Le Googled' under several different headings, and didn't come up with much-LOL, except a side image of a male figure tipping his hat in Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel". I'd like to see Sebastian wearing his top hat but maybe that facial image may be helpful.

So, I don't like the ones that show half a face cut horizontally, like at the nose so you can't see the eyes. I kinda like the ones that are covered by something so you can see half of the face, vertically. Also, you can have him putting his hands up in front of his face - like he is thinking about something and kinda scrubbing his face. I have some examples, but couldn't figure out how to attach them. Definately the silouette angle is always good. 22 more days and counting!!!! Sabena

LOgalinOR, I think you nailed it--the face is indeed much more painterly and obvious in the new ANGELS cover than in the KINGS. Thank you! I've pointed that out to my editor. Also sent her the Clockwork Angel cover..

Sabena, those cut-off faces have become something of a joke, it's been overdone so much. And I agree, the silhouette is much less "in your face."

Elaine, I believe the Butcher novels are actually done by this same artist. I've also sent some of them to my editor. The faces in them are much less distinct than in the ANGELS cover; I wonder why he did that? Because I'm a female writer? (Someone recently did a funny study of the differences between the covers given male and female writers, even when there is no difference in the books).

Have you thought of using shadows? There is a fabulous photo of Clifton Webb dancing with Marilyn Miller at the address below. They are on a dark stage in front of an lightened doorway and shown in silhouette. It is an affect often used by dancers or in film noir publicity shots.

flickchick1953.blogspot.com

I am over the headless body pictures of covers too. It was an interesting affect the first time but it has been done to death now.

It is really good that they are listening to you and asking for your suggestions. After all, you did write the book so you would know what it should look like better than anyone.

Paz, I must admit I was rather stunned that they are listening to me...maybe. We shall see. Thanks for the suggestions.

Suzanne, that is a very interesting site! Thanks.

Imhess, you're right, it is too small! I've been thinking it looked odd because they had it pushed back too far on his head, and told them to please tip it forward. For some reason it didn't even occur to me that the thing was simply too small. I'll tell my editor, but I suspect they only have one top hat...

Chris McGrath is your cover artist?! That man has his own legion of followers who will buy books just for his covers alone. He is a legend in the SciFi/Urban Fantasy/Fantasy genre. You can see his work here:

Chris McGrath is your cover artist? Interesting, because your covers feel different to me than some of his other work. On his best covers, there's an interplay of shadows and background detail that make them really interesting.

Check out his covers for D.B. Jackson's Thieftaker fantasy series--I really like those. The series is pretty good, too, if you enjoy both fantasy and history novels.

Looking at the cover a little more closely, I think the artist likely is Chris McGrath. Maybe he's going lighter on the background detail because he doesn't want to risk being ahistorical? That's not such a problem with scifi/fantasy covers.

I think a different artist's model could do wonders, too. When I look at your cover, I see Harry Sullivan, from the old Doctor Who episodes:

Sarah Easley I love the malevolent, moody atmosphere in the revamped cover of Angels! I agree, though, that is NOT Sebastian. I liked the old cover designs, honestly, but if there's going to be a change at least we can try and help make it a good one. Kudos to the creativity team in actually listening to the author on this one! :-)

A pose suggestion: Have Sebastian's back completely to us with his head turned to look at something. Have the light hit the side of his face so that we know it's him, but (again) don't get the full reveal of a face not everyone will ever agree on. Kind of similar to the Angels & Demons movie poster:

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh - I'm so excited. I just saw on my credit card there is a transaction pending from Barnes and Noble. Just checked my account - my hardcover of Kings is being "processed". Maybe, maybe it'll ship early. I try to support B&N as a brick and mortar store so get my hardback there and then have the kindle on order at Amazon. I'd be over the moon if I got the hardcover early (B&N is normally NOT early). Fingers and toes crossed. Sabena

I was watching an old episode of Murder, She Wrote on DVD last night and one of the characters had a framed picture of a 1940s film poster on his dressing room wall.

It was of a man wearing a coat with the collar turned up and his hat turned down, as Charles suggested, and it was really effective. You could only see the shape of his face in shadow and his mouth and chin. It was very atmospheric and mysterious.

About Me

A former university professor with an incurable case of wanderlust, I write the Sebastian St. Cyr Regency mystery series under the name of C.S. Harris and thrillers as one half of C.S. Graham. I’ve also written historical romances as Candice Proctor.